This Week in Jacksonville - Who won the presidential debate? Key supporters weigh in

memorable moments in the only debate so far candidates kamla Harris and Donald Trump attacked each other and their opponent's record in office who made the biggest move with voters we have analysis from our political analyst and we welcome campaigns surrogates and supporters to give their opinions plus during a month dedicated to preventing suicide we're focused on our veteran Community we will hear about the warning signs the myths and how to ask the question that must be asked on this weekend Jacksonville yeah so thankful you're here with us today so more than 67 million watched the presidential debate earlier this week will there be another before we get to election day but joining us today are two people supporting their respective candidates two people who have different views of what happened in the debate Jimmy paluso is a Jacksonville city council member he's here in his private capacity as a kamla Harris campaign supporter joining us from South Florida and the Trump Campaign Headquarters is Brian Hughes a campaign spokesperson also served as the city of Jacksonville's chief of staff and chief administrative officer over the past several years so Brian let's start with you how did team Trump feel about the debate did the former president accomplish what he wanted absolutely uh Kent and obviously good to be with you and glad to see my old friends in Jacksonville but president Trump really had uh three goals in the debate one is to explain his uh pathway forward to restore our economic greatness explain uh how he will once CE again secure the border and then uh explain how he will increase our standing in the world get us back to a position of strength that helps bring uh stability and peace throughout the world he did those three three things and quite frankly had it not been a three to one debate where moderators actually take an active role um opposing president Trump and supporting kamla Harris I think we'd have had more of an opportunity to make kamla Harris accountable for a 20-year record that she seems to have forgotten in the last 50 days all right but from our perspective we did exactly what we needed to do and we think uh that the polling of undecided voters afterwards reflects that so Jimmy paloa team Harris seemed feel pretty positive about the debate did the vice president do what she wanted to accomplish yeah I mean I think it was I think it was obvious that there was a winner in that debate and that was vice president kamla Harris uh I can tell you you know from someone who's just viewing it she was controlled she was measured she looked presidential and not only did she look at but she's been acting in the capacity as our vice president of someone who's been in those rooms and has been doing the great work you know I know I know Brian who who I considered a friend um is going to have a different opinion than I will about you know maybe what what was happening under the Trump Administration when it came to you know how we're viewed by the world stage but there's no question we are safer today than we've ever been uh there's no question that with the expansion of NATO and with uh you know where we've seen uh security for our country you know kamla Harris and Joe Biden frankly have been better for this country than any president in the past 25 years all right so Washington Post reported after the debate uh and Brian they quoted you they said spokesman Brian Hughes said Trump was interested in debating again was open to a rematch hosted by NBC later this month but then by Wednesday morning Mr Trump was signaling that he was against it Brian we'll start with you will president Trump debate again well what president Trump has said is he'll take a look at it but what's important to note about it is that many weeks ago um well first when we had President Biden and then even after their uh switch in the coronation of uh kamla Harris without an actual primary vote um what we saw was uh the the president willing to accept a number of debates and then when KLA Harris uh took the nomination uh we were asked to sort of reinforce that so president Trump was invited by Fox and accepted it KLA Harris rejected that so Fox had a town hall that would have been a debate had she had the courage to come and defend herself um we obviously had already accepted ABC and she accepted that as well and then just days before that debate she tried to re negotiate the rules um we had always been steadfast on the rules that we were going to debate under but we uh we went in under those rules again prior to ABC NBC had offered a date and we had accepted that was September 25th and uh she had rejected that so we think that what her campaign is really doing uh by suddenly bringing this conversation back is admitting that she didn't do the job she needed to have done uh the other night and she's looking for a doover she didn't uh she didn't explain what she needs to explain to the American voters about her uh constant changing positions when it comes to Public Safety how to get our economy back or how to secure our world by having a strong us presence in it so so yeah thank you on that so it sounds like it's possible but it doesn't sound like it's trending that way uh Jimmy paloa do you want to see another debate for the Pres the former president and the vice president look given the first debate I'll see dozens of more debates to see to see more beatdowns like we saw the other evening um you know I I think that the Trump Administration that was some really good spin that Brian just just did there uh there's no question that Donald Trump does not want to be on the debate stage again with KLA Harris uh and it's evident why um you know the fact that that he mentioned there's changing positions that Harris has had I find that ridiculous um you know she's been pretty consistent in her positions for quite some time oh that's just not true and and let me tell you I mean the the gentleman who he's supporting you know had a different position about abortion like two weeks ago then flip-flopped around another time I mean the the guy's changing positions by the week uh kamla Harris told the American people her vision for America uh and it's about making it more affordable making it easier to buy a home making it to have uh prescription drugs that are that are not going to bankrupt you to make sure that women have the health care needs um or the healthare provided to them you know based on their needs you know that we should have abortion rights throughout the entire country um and she also said you know hey we need to make sure we have a secure border uh and that's why you know a great border deal was put in front of uh Congress a couple months ago but what happened we saw Donald Trump make some calls and kill the deal even though it's a a Republican bill so I mean we're talking about you know an individual who was president for 4 years wasn't able to get the job done now he's running again third time as the nominee and in this debate he sounded more deranged and crazy than ever so let me ask this and maybe one minute for each of you on this but both sides throughout this are saying hey the other side is lying Brian I'll start with you what's the most outlandish untruth in your opinion going on here and if you can do that in a minute or less that'd be great well I can't pick one but let's be clear she talks about turning a page and what she'll do on day one day one is three and a half years ago she's been sitting in the White House the co-pilot of every major policy that has driven up inflation she's Champion by nomics on border security she was there on day one to day 100 when he reversed when Biden reversed every major border security uh position taken by President trump it led to$ 20 million 20 million illegal immigrants screaming in and causing chaos in communities from coast to coast literally every city in America has been turned into a border City just north of where you're sitting in Georgia Lake and Riley was killed by an illegal immigrant who would not have been in this country but for Harris Biden immigration policy which is open borders so she's flip-flopped on the border she's she's reverse course on her support of her own president's uh economic plan uh and when it comes to the world stage just a few weeks ago she told or a few months ago she told the Israelis they'd be M making a mistake to go into Rafa Rafa is where uh American citizens and Israeli citizens who were held hostage were killed uh by terrorists just a few weeks ago so Bri on every major issue she's changing position I'm I'm going to run out of time if I I don't shift here so apologies Jimmy paluso what do you think the most outlandish untruth that's being said this I mean honestly we we saw a former president of the United States scream about people eating dogs and cats in Springfield um maybe the most outlandish and bizarre thing that we've ever seen in a presidential debate and so for everyone that's watching this you need to ask yourselves the presidents that we've had in this country in the past Ronald Reagan HW Bush Barack Obama they all asked us As Americans to rise up and care more for each other to be better Americans better than ourselves Donald Trump only wants to divide and and scream and he and Hall we cons we consistently see it and now we're on the last iteration of it before it was funny it was funny when he came down on the escalator it was funny when he said some crazy outlandish stuff but it's not funny anymore like this country is ready to wake up we've seen over 42,000 Volunteers in Florida about 5 to 6% of them are registered Republicans ready to volunteer Step Up flip this state and make sure that Donald Trump is no longer president he he's he's done nothing but lie and he's done nothing but I mean hell he's a criminal he's got three criminal convictions and he has to pay Jean Carroll for raping her this is the kind of man who's running to be the president and and it's unacceptable we should be done with this it's it's kind of crunch time here because we're 50 plus days until the election in November and uh my appreciation both to Jimmy paluso and to Brian Hughes for bringing uh your perspectives on this campaign as we head forward thanks for the time today gentlemen thank you both thanks Brian all right a different view on the debate something much more towards the middle here news for Jacks political analyst Rick Melania is with us we're also talking about the city of Jacksonville's Community benefits agreement that's next I'm this week in [Music] Jacksonville you're watching this week in Jacksonville with Kent Justice news for Jacks political analyst Rick melany is with us he's the executive director of the public policy Institute of Jacksonville University so Rick we we watched the debate together here at the conference room at the station on Tuesday night let's put some objectivity on this you initially said president Trump probably missed some opportunities do you still feel that way clearly he did there's a sharp contrast in these two candidates KLA Harris was very well prepared she was on offense she had Donald Trump on defense and as part of that offense she baited Donald Trump and in taking the bait Donald Trump missed lots and lots of opportunities he did not stay on message for Donald Trump his message really was to stay on those policy issues in which the public agrees with him and that in particular preferring his policies over Harris and Biden inflation in particular immigration in particular another area where Donald Trump missed an opportunity quite frankly was the was the Harris record not only in 2019 when she was running for president when she advocated pretty straightforward positions of abolishing private insurance uh you know opposed to fracking defund the police decriminalize illegal entry into the country it's a long list but instead of that he was talking about Ohio and immigrants you know eating pets it really was a miss and of course the very first question out of the box you may argue the moderators were biased maybe so but some questions really favored him are you better off today than you were for years ago and KLA Harris didn't answer the question and he had an opportunity to say she didn't answer but I will let's talk about my four years let's talk about these four years so for Donald Trump it was not really a good night but in particular lacked the discipline to stay on message is it fair in in this campaign is it fair to point to her record as vice president she wasn't the commander-in-chief she's not in the Oval Office making all the policies and by the way this was a moment 911 uh where both candidates you see here shaking hands um but it this is is it fair to pin the last three and a half years on her when she wasn't making the decision well I think part of what Donald Trump's argument could have been and Republicans is for the last three and a half years as vice president for for example she's the presiding officer of the Senate and when there's ever a tie vote she votes and kamla Harris as vice president cast more votes than any vice president in the history of the country and many of those votes were consequential particularly when it came to spending the build back better plan which is 2.2.2 trillion the inflation reduction act in which he passed the deciding vote $700 billion and other appointments so the Trump argument is yes and and KLA Harris herself has said she's the last one in the room on Afghanistan voting for spending I think there's a very compelling argument that Donald Trump could have made that over the last three and a half years these are Harris policies and the argument that he made in his closing but certainly didn't make earlier which was she's saying these things why hasn't she done it over the last three and a half years that's also in the category of missed opportunities having said all this we shouldn't take away from her very strong performance an experience debat her like I said she was well prepared and if this debate for my students in the public policy Institute I'm going to say one side's going to really prepare one side's not I'm going to encourage you to prepare because her preparation showed and his lack of preparation showed want to shift topics just briefly here in Jacksonville the city council this last week uh approved the community benefits agreement that's associated with the new stadium lease and the Jaguars uh what do you see in that and how does it impact not just a sports team but how does it impact the city K it's interesting this is a big priority for the for the mayor important initiative by the Jaguars and actually although it's the smaller dollar amount compared to the stadium renovation it's actually gotten big big attention and that's in part because it's not just about 8 to 10 football games a year downtown it's about a benefit CommunityWide particularly on the East Side in those areas and close to the stadium so this was an important package in terms of history in the NFL a historically large package compared to what we've seen in other locations this certainly was a big priority for the mayor's office and for the city council it's been much talked about and you'll see where that's going in the years ahead we did a podcast earlier in the year where we talked to Mike Weinstein about the funding of it this is something that you you train people on too when you get a policy proposal you got to ask the question how is it going to be paid for how do you feel about what the city has decided on how they're going to fund this well I have a simple rule is that if you can get a multi-million dollar match from somewhere get the multi-million dollar match and the Jaguars were funding a certain piece of this but they also came up with million more millions of more as if the city was going to do that and the city is doing that and I think Mike onstein in particular did a very creative and thoughtful job in putting together a financial package both for the stadium and for the community benefit agreement yeah it it's interesting that Council initially said hey we're not going to rush this by the end of June we'll talk about it during the summer but really it comes to fruition for all sides all parties involved a healthy vetting process because there is a question of where is this money going to go I think council did a good job in in being more deliberate about that but I think in the end from the mayor's office city council Jaguars they're pleased to see this agreement going forward Rick thanks for your insights today well stay with us there's a nationwide push to talk about suicide prevention we're focused on the issue when it comes to Veterans who are much more likely to confront that terrible feeling stay with us on this week in [Music] Jacksonville you're watching this week in Jacksonville on Channel 4 and this month we recognize National Suicide Prevention awareness month with World Suicide Prevention Day was just this past Tuesday the veteran Community is at risk as veterans are 1.7 times more likely to die by Suicide than civilians with the highest risk happening during and after their transition from military service so joining us today to discuss this issue CEO Dan bean from kin's for warriors and Clinic director Jody beelman from the Steven A Cohen military family clinic at at Centerstone Dan and Jody I I appreciate you being here um people who watch our show know that regularly I I want to talk about this I want to make sure that we're providing some resources and raising the level of awareness of this threat to uh our veterans in in that community so uh if you would you you've told me you know this this month is a chance to to shift public perception spread some hope raise some awareness uh and then extend the support and resources to those who may be struggling and Jody if You' start just explain your organization and how it's working to prevent veteran suicide yeah definitely so the Stephen aen AR Family Clinic at Centerstone uh we provide counseling services and Case Management Services to active duty service members veterans um and their entire families um and really we're trying to um offer treatment and and support of course but also um provide additional training and resources to learn the the warning signs the risk factors um that a veteran may be struggling um and offer some additional support yeah Dan Bean you and I have known each other on several topics but here you are you're this role more recently as a CEO at k9's for words explain your organization there and how that impacts so what we do is we pair service dogs with veterans that have post- trumatic stress disorder traumatic brain injury or are victims of sexual assault uh and it's just a life CH changer for them a lot of them come to us were their last house on the Block the last thing they can try in order to get back their quality of life that they had before post-traumatic stress disorder and it's really is amazing to see what the dog can do for them yeah why don't veterans Maybe reach out or or or let people know that they're having these thoughts when they're when they're in crisis and I think this is not just veterans it's anybody who's in that kind of Mental Health crisis why don't they reach out and let people know yeah just real real quick as a veteran myself we're taught to be independent we're part we're supposed to take care of you we're not you know we're not supposed to let you take care of us and so it's it's really much of a big sea change for the veteran in order to open up and realize that actually they do need help and they do need to ask for it and I'm sure that that's what you find at the Cohen Clinic yeah definitely and there's still unfortunately a stigma surrounding mental health care and suicide in general a lot of myths and misconceptions and so the more we can debunk some of those myths and um make it more comfortable for people to ask uh for help um and to access help then the more more likely they are to do so well you each provided some resources here so I want to take a look at this what are some of the warning signs that's that's one of the things that you were uh pointing out here and this has all of uh uh you know the the thought bubbles here but yeah it's guilt it's feeling trapped it's that desire to escape it's that hopeless feeling and certainly when you're having a mental health crisis feeling alone and then you do things to make sure you're alone uh and it kind of snowballs from there doesn't it it does definitely um and and that desire to isolate to not burden anybody else especially in your family um with what you may be struggling with is understandable um and the more we can learn about how common it is for veterans who are in crisis to have these thoughts hopefully the more comfortable they will be to ask for help um and for their family to arm them with uh resources and knowledge as well um Co and Veterans Network and psych armor and a lot of other sites offer a ton of trainings and support and resources available to help spot those signs Dan as a veteran how would that land on you uh even if it's really important but we're talking about there's a critical question to ask when is the right time to to ask that question what's the question and when's the right time to ask it well the question is how can we help you you're not you're not yourself and we need to get you back to where your quality of life is what it was U before this terrible uh syndrome struck you and you just have to ask them and you have to be prepared for them to say I'm fine and then you have to repeat the question and keep after it and so as they get more reclusive more desperate um you need to be even more aggressive and one way to do it is to have other veterans talk to the veteran find Shipmates or folks that serve together with them and say have them call you know Facebook has really opened it up for folks that they can communicate and just have them um intersect with that veteran that you see is spiraling really more and more out of control yeah it it is that that issue whereas uh somebody who cares about somebody else hey I want to be effective I want to be helpful I want to be respectful so it's sometimes it's hard I don't want to push but if you notice that somebody is in crisis if you notice that somebody needs that help it is worth it to push that's certainly what I'm I'm getting so I know both of you have resources there the fir watch is in Northeast Florida and really making a difference uh throughout the entire State uh I appreciate the time and I appreciate bringing the awareness and hopefully giving somebody out there some hope oh it it's worth it I'm I'm going to take that risk I'm going to reach out I'm going to ask for some help take the first step really appreciate that and then of course this 988 is the number that you can uh dial there and press one for veterans and then you'll get some of the support that that you would need y Dan be and Jody bman thank you so much for your time appreciate it and this week in Jacksonville airs each Sunday morning at this time I'm Kat Justice thanks for watching on air on Channel 4 the cw17 and online at newsfor jacks.com or streaming on news forj plus and a reminder don't forget to download this weekend Jacksonville Business Edition this week's episode looking at visit Jacksonville and what's happening locally with tourism see why everyday more people are choosing news for Jacks Northeast Florida and South Georgia's number one source for local news